High resolution encoding and transmission of traffic information

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for increasing the geospatial resolution of traffic information by dividing known location intervals into a fixed number of sub-segments not tied to any one map providers format, efficient coding of the traffic information, and distribution of the traffic information to end-user consuming devices over one or more of a satellite based broadcast transport medium and a data communications network. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention detail a nationwide traffic service which can be encoded and distributed through a single broadcast service, such as, for example, an SDARS service, or a broadcast over a data network. Exemplary embodiments include aggregating the traffic data from segments of multiple location intervals, into predefined and predetermined flow vectors, and sending the flow vectors within a data stream to users. Confidence levels obtained from raw traffic data can both (I) be disclosed to drivers / users to supplement a very low signal (or no signal) speed and congestion report, and (ii) can also be used in various system algorithms that decide what local anomalies or aberrations to filter out as noise, or to disclose as accurate information and thus more granularly depict the roadway in question (and use additional bits to do so) as an actual highly localized traffic condition.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending International Application No. PCT / US2014 / 029221, designating the United States, with an international filing date of Mar. 14, 2014, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 785,663 filed on Mar. 14, 2013, to which benefit and priority were claimed in PCT / US2014 / 029221, the disclosures of each which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention relates to traffic information coding and transmission, and in particular to a method of increasing the geospatial resolution of traffic information by dividing known location intervals into a fixed number of sub-segments, efficient coding of the traffic information, and the distribution of the traffic information to end-user consuming devices over a satellite based broadcast transport medium.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Various proposals have been presented fo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a system and method for improving the accuracy and resolution of traffic information by dividing known location intervals into smaller sub-segments, efficient coding of the traffic information, and distributing it to users through satellite and data networks. The system can also break down highway linear segments that traverse multiple broadcast service areas, reassemble them at the application level without gaps in coverage, and filter out large volumes of data that do not need to be processed by a specific application. Additionally, the system can efficiently divide data delivery into multiple temporal domains for independent filtering.

Problems solved by technology

Both of these proposals, TPEG and PLR, suffer from a number of disadvantages when applied to a broadcast distribution medium such as a satellite radio channel.

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